Peck, Number 15
by Cookyie
Summary: AU fic. Holly transfers to a new college and joins Gail's soccer team. Will they be able to play together? Holly's POV.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Oh geez, I don't know what I'm doing. But all this World Cup craze has just given me a new love for the game. Gotta find myself some soccer buddies. I spent time in my backyard kicking a soccer ball around by myself and may have knocked over some plants...and lights. Ahem.

Anyway, a couple things before we get started:

To the non-American readers—I AM SORRY. I know 99.9% of the rest of the world refers to our soccer as football. But I've just always known it as soccer. So I apologize in advance for the use of the term and if it makes you uncomfortable and gives you goosebumps.

Also, I have not _really_ played soccer since I was like...7 years old. So I also apologize to the soccer fans out there for any inaccuracies. I will do my best.

And of course, the disclaimer: I wish I owned Gail and Holly and Rookie Blue. I would've thrown Holly into the picture in Season 1 and they'd be married with two kids by now. BUT, I don't own Rookie blue or them. I just like to think about them. And play with them.

As always, any mistakes are mine.

Now without further ado, happy reading!

* * *

I heard the whispers as I walked onto the field. I felt the stares as people's heads turned to stare at me unabashedly. But I held my head up high and tried to brush it off. I had been looking forward to this moment all week and I was not going to let strangers ruin the moment for me. Well, granted, they weren't strangers. They were going to be my future teammates.

I had just transferred into the new college and was looking forward to playing soccer with a decent team again. I had been playing at one of my hometown's local community college for the past two years. I had originally planned on attending this college after I graduated high school. But after Mom passed away so unexpectedly after high school, Dad and I agreed to just put going away to college for a couple years so I could stick around. We had been so broken by her departure. We couldn't function normally. And as strong as Dad tried to be for me, I couldn't pull myself together for a long time. Mom and I had always been super close and the accident that took her was too sudden. Too soon. The coach had recruited me in high school but when she heard about what happened, she understood. So I deferred enrollment for two years. But now here I was.

A new start. A new school. A new team. I had enjoyed playing on the soccer team at the community college. That is, until I started dating one of the other players, Jenny. Then I had enjoyed it even more. It hadn't even really been dating. More like friends with benefits. She was older than me and it was only apparent to me later that she just liked to fuck around. I found her making out with some girl from her math class behind the bleachers before one of our practices. Then playing on the team had majorly sucked. And it had completely sucked until the year ended.

But it was a new field, I reminded myself as I felt the grass underneath my feet. A new year. And new people. Nothing was going to bring me down this year.

It was the first team practice and Coach Winny wasn't here yet. I ignored the stares of the other girls on the field and sat down on the bleacher on the side of the field, dropping my bag with a thud. I put on my shinguards and changed into my soccer cleats, pulling out a soccer ball and dribbled it out onto the field.

The other girls were still bunched around the bleachers, whispering and giggling. I couldn't tell if they had no idea who I was or if they were just being elitist. I ignored them as I ran up and down the field, kicking the ball between my legs. It felt good to be out on the field again.

"Hey."

I turned around swiftly to find a girl in a brown ponytail walking towards me. She had a friendly smile and stuck out her hand as she approached me.

"I'm Andy," she explained. "Andy McNally."

I kicked the ball up into my hands and tucked it underneath my elbow by my side. "Hi. I'm Holly."

"Holly, huh? Holly Stewart, isn't it?"

I gave Andy a weird look. "Yes."

Andy laughed. "No, I'm not a stalker. Coach told us you'd be joining us this year. We've heard a lot about you. You play forward right?"

"Yeah, usually. You?"

"Defender. I don't like being up there and making all those goals. I'd prefer to defend the home turf, you know?"

"To each his own," I shrugged.

"Definitely," Andy nodded. "Come meet the rest of the team. We don't bite."

I followed her back to the group of girls. If the rest of the team was anything like Andy, I think I'd get along with them just fine. The rest of them seemed to be quite friendly once Andy broke the ice for me. I was introduced to the goalie, defenders, midfielders, and the forwards. Most of them greeted me with a polite smile and a friendly handshake.

But then there was the captain. Center forward, Andy told me. Gail Peck.

A pale blonde girl stared at me as Andy pointed to her and introduced her to me. Her skin was so pale, I wondered how she stayed that color despite being a soccer team. But I was unable to give it much further thought as instead of taking my outstretched hand, she crossed her arms and gave me a cold icy glare. And with a flip of her blonde ponytail, turned away from me to grab something out of her bag by the bleachers.

_Whoa_, I thought. I tried to smile it off, but the rest of the team looked just as uncomfortable as me. Before anybody could say anything else to relieve the tension that had just spread through the group, a holler pierced through the air.

"C'mon girls. What are you waiting for? Permission slips? Get started on those warm-up laps. Let's go, let's go!" Coach Winny was walking up to the field briskly with a clipboard in her hand. The team started to scatter to do laps around the field, Gail included. She led the group with long, lengthy strides and it was clear that she was in perfect athletic shape. She ran perfectly, her legs pounding the grass with strength. I couldn't wait to see how she played.

I followed behind after saying a brief hello to Coach. Andy was waiting for me and she shrugged at me as we started our laps.

"Sorry about Gail," she said as we jogged lightly a bit behind the rest of the group. "Since you've come in, Coach replaced one of the regular forwards with you. Traci got pushed to midfielder."

I tried to recall the memory and remembered a dark girl introducing herself to me as Traci Nash with a smile. "But she seemed fine. What does that have to do with Gail?"

"Gail and her are best friends. Gail seems to have taken it much more seriously than Traci has. Traci is pretty chill and is just willing to let things to slide like that. We understand that you're supposed to be pretty amazing, so she was okay with it. Gail was pissed because she's been playing with Traci for years now. But Coach wouldn't have any of it," Andy explained. "Gail's...complicated. She's a good player and once she's on your side, she'll stick up for you to the end of time. But she can be a downright bitch at times. And I can say that because I'm her friend," she laughed.

Although I couldn't understand why Gail was more pissed about Traci's repositioning than Traci herself was, I decided to shrug it off. Maybe she'd change her mind after we started playing.

We finished the laps and Coach had us spread out on the field and warm up some more with passing drills. I watched the ball as it bounced from player to player. When it came to my side of the field, I turned, expecting a pass from Gail since that was the order we were in. But instead of passing it directly to me, she took a running start at the ball and shot the ball like a rocket way over my head. Completely out of reach.

I knew that Gail was a good enough player that the pass hadn't been an accident. After seeing the ball bounce away on the track, I turned to give Gail an unbelieving look. She looked like she could care less, as she stood with her hand on her hip, staring me back down. Coach blew on her whistle, long and hard.

"Peck," she hollered. "Quit horsing around. Again!"

Coach threw another ball our way. Gail kicked it at me directly this time, albeit still with some brute force so that I was forced to stop the ball by stepping on it so it didn't bounce off my foot. I scoffed at Gail's attitude as I turned to pass it back down to the midfielders again. I saw several girls give each other looks over the passing situation that had transpired between Gail and myself and decided to ignore it.

Gail would just have to deal with it. I was here to play soccer and her terrible attitude just wasn't going to stop me from enjoying myself. I bit my cheek on the inside, trying to contain my resentment. We continued doing the passing drill, Gail making sure to really sock the ball to me each time it was her turn to pass to me.

When Coach finally had enough, she had us and the substitute players switch off into scrimmage teams, just to play a short game. Gail and I ended up on the same team, which I suspected was because Coach wanted to see how well we would work together.

As I jogged into position, I saw Coach giving a talk to Gail, complete with finger wagging and gestures towards me. I also saw Gail roll her eyes and sigh exasperatedly before she jogged on to join me on the field.

With a whistle blow, the scrimmage started and the ball was quickly passed in my direction. I started making my way down the field immediately, dodging one of the midfielders as she attempted to take the ball from me. I twirled quickly and went around her right side as she lunged to her left. I hurtled down the right side of the field, with the midfielder hot on my trail. But the thing that made me the best forward on my previous team had been speed. I drew away quickly but I spotted Andy running quickly towards me from her goal with a determined look on her face.

I looked frantically to my left. Gail was sprinting down the center of the field as quickly as she could, seemingly outrunning her own defender. Andy was bearing down on me so I plunged my foot into the grass underneath the ball, kicking it up high and to my left, aiming it towards where I thought Gail would end up.

The ball arced high over Andy's head and landed with a bounce several feet in front of Gail. Her defender was hopelessly behind her and Andy was too far off on the side to stop her. Only the goalie stood between Gail and the net. With no hesitation whatsoever and a swift graceful kick, Gail shot the ball high towards the left corner of the net. The goalie lunged desperately upwards, but the ball was too high up and it was out of her reach. It found the back of the net with ease, scraping the crossbar as it went in.

"Nice!" Coach applauded from the sidelines. "Good pass, Holly."

I came to a stop, breathing hard as I watched the goalie pick up the ball, congratulating Gail on the goal. Gail nodded in response with a tiny smile. It was the first time I had seen any other expression on her besides hate. It looked good on her. I hoped that the pass that made her goal possible would've helped to clear the tension between us. So I took the opportunity to approach her as the goalie kicked the ball back towards the other side.

"Hey, good shot," I congratulated as we jogged back to center field to get back into position.

Instead of a "thank you" or "good pass", Gail merely turned her head to look at me. She nodded briefly, her mouth a thin tight line. No words emerged from between her lips and she jogged off quicker to get away from me.

I stared at her back openly as she ran away, her ponytail swinging in her wake. Her hair was so blonde, an icy blonde. It fit her image well, I thought bitterly. Her last name was embroidered on the back of her uniform along with her number, number 15. The image burned into my brain.

Peck, Number 15.

The team bitch, apparently. And our team captain. And the person whom Coach was expecting me to get along with the best.

When practice was finally over, I was tired beyond belief. Sweat covered my body and my hair was matted on my face and a complete rat's nest. But at the same time I was completely exhilarated. This team was a lot better and more fluid than my previous team. Gail and I passed the ball between us several times, each time more seamlessly than the last. I was always able to place the ball where she was headed, enabling her to get into a good position for another pass or a shot at the goal. I was determined that she would change her mind about me when the practice was over. During Gail's last run down the field with two defenders charging up on her and with the other forward, Sue Tran, nowhere in sight, she was forced to kick the ball in my direction. I dodged my defender with a couple quick feints and rounded around her to approach the goal. The goalie stooped low with her hands out. I feinted again, making it seem like I was going to shoot to the right of the goalie. At the last minute, I changed angles and instead shot the ball into the center of the goal and the goalie was too late to change her direction, the ball flying easily to the net.

I looked behind me to try to maybe thank Gail for the good pass. But before I could, Coach blew the whistle, signifying the end of practice. Gail jogged off the field without looking back at me towards the bleachers. Coach congratulated us on a good practice before ordering us to hit the showers in the locker rooms.

I grabbed my bag and walked with Andy to the locker rooms.

"So you are as good as Coach has hyped you up to be," Andy joked lightly.

"She hyped me up?" I asked curiously.

"Well, yeah. You were supposed to be 'the one'."

"The one?" I repeated, nonplussed at the idea.

"Yeah. Maybe with you we can finally beat Ottawa this year. They've beaten us for the past two years," Andy said bitterly as we put our stuff into the lockers.

"Holly, hey," a voice behind me called. I turned to see Traci coming up to me with a smile on her face. I took that as a good sign and that she really wasn't peeved about me taking her position.

"Hey," I said briefly, nodding to Andy as she made her way to the showers first. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to say good job," Traci raised her hand up for a high-five. I smiled and responded accordingly. "You are every bit as Coach said you were gonna be. I guess I can't hate you for taking over for me."

"I'm sorry," I said automatically. "I didn't know I'd be replacing anybody on the team."

Traci raised both her hands and waved them, shaking her head. "It's fine. I can live with being midfielder as long as you make your goals. Which you are."

"What about Gail?" I asked hesitantly. "She seems to have...a bit of a problem with me."

"Gail's just being stubborn," Traci scoffed. "She'll get over it. I told her I don't have a problem, but Gail is just Gail."

"That doesn't sound too promising," I raised an eyebrow.

"Here, let's try to mediate this now. C'mon," Traci gestured for me to follow her. It was clear that she was leading me towards Gail's locker and I followed hesitantly, holding my breath. Gail was still rummaging through her locker and hanging some clothes when we came up to her.

"Gail," Traci called. "Nice shots today."

"Yeah, good shooting," I nodded enthusiastically as Gail turned her head to look at the two of us. Her pale blue eyes shot straight towards me and hardened, her mouth tightening as it became obvious she was biting the inside of her lip.

"Thanks," she muttered, turning away again.

"Holly's good, right? She's a good passer," Traci insisted.

"Sure," Gail replied unenthusiastically without looking at me.

"Okay, what can I do?" I jumped in. I sort of despised conflict. That kinda stuff always made me really uncomfortable. That was why I felt so uneasy after I discovered Jenny making out with that girl. I didn't know how to fix it and how to approach it. Jenny apparently hadn't felt the need to fix it, so our uncomfortable situation remained exactly that with no resolution until I finally transferred out.

"What can I do?" I repeated. "I didn't mean to replace Traci. But I think we would work well together. So you might as well give me a chance."

I hoped I sounded more brave than I felt on the inside, because I felt like I had just threatened a sleeping bear. Gail slammed her locker door with a loud snap, making me jump with surprise. She turned swiftly to me, staring me down again as I instinctively leaned away from her.

"I'll give you a chance when I want to give you a chance," she snapped. And with that, she threw her towel over her shoulder and stalked off to the showers.

I stood there, blinking in shock. I hadn't ever met such a stubborn person before. It was obvious that Gail and I seemed to play well together. We were both fast runners, well ahead of everyone else on the team. And because of that, we knew exactly where to put the ball for each other. I couldn't understand why she refused to cooperate.

Traci clapped my back and laughed. "Well, I tried. She'll come around."

I hoped she would. Otherwise this year was not going to turn out to be the great year I had expected.

* * *

A/N: How's that for a start? Would love to hear your feedback! Also just fyi, yes, I will be continuing to work on Only Time. That will continue to be my main project. This fic will be a simple side-project, so it may go longer without updates. Also, I have less of an outline for this fic (read _none_) than Only Time. So I'll see how it goes as I go!


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Holly, did you want to join us at the bar?" Traci asked as I finished toweling off my hair. "We go after pre-season practices sometimes. There won't be time for stuff like that once games start though. Have some fun while we can."

"Yeah sure," I replied. School hadn't officially started yet and it wasn't like I had anything else to do. And because I had only just transferred into the school, I hadn't met very many people at all besides my assigned roommate, who seemed to mostly keep to herself. I knew I was going to be spending a lot of time with my teammates and I decided I might as well get to know them off the field as well on the field. "That sounds good," I smiled at Traci.

"Great," Traci nodded. "We'll meet you over there then?"

"Sure. The one right by campus? What's it called again?" I'd seen a bar that the students seem to frequent but I hadn't had a chance to check it out yet. Or had anybody to go with either.

"The Black Penny," Traci confirmed. "That's the one. I'm gonna head over there first. I'll get you started with a beer?"

I gave her a thumbs up. "Perfect."

"Gail," Traci called as she walked out the door with the other girls. "Meeting at the Penny."

Gail simply nodded in response as she finished packing her stuff from the locker. It was only the two of us left in the locker room with Andy still in the showers. The air was tense and despite all the sweaty athletes that had just been in the room, the environment itself felt chilly. I suspected it had something to do with Gail. Or perhaps, it had everything to do with Gail.

I got the feeling she was waiting for me to leave first so she didn't have to walk with me as I eyed her putting things away into her bag with slow distinct motions. I copied her, not wanting to leave first. I stuffed our dark blue and white jersey into my duffel bag, with the number 11 imprinted on the back and carefully packed my cleats away too. I wanted a chance to talk some more to Andy about being on the team in general. And maybe some more about Gail too. I wondered who would give up first.

But then she ran out of stuff to put away. So she sat down on the bench with one leg on either side of the bench. And stared at me. I could see her eyes boring into me from the side from my peripheral vision, watching every motion. I felt oddly invaded as she continued to appraised me openly. She didn't relent either.

I sat down on the bench with a thump, ignoring her stare from the side. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through some social media accounts without paying too much attention. Gail's stare was piercing and even though I couldn't actually see her eyes on me, I felt them. I bit my lip and willed for Andy to emerge from the showers soon because the uncomfortableness was reaching my breaking point.

Fortunately, a millisecond before I decided to stand up and leave, Andy appeared from the steam with a towel wrapped around herself.

"Whoa," she said, stopping in her tracks. "Where did everybody go?"

"Penny," Gail said flatly. She had her elbow propped on her knee, holding up her head. She looked like she had all the time in the world.

"Oh okay," Andy nodded and headed to her locker to change. "Are you guys going?"

"Yeah," Gail chimed in.

"Yeah," I repeated immediately right after her.

"Well you guys didn't have to wait for me," Andy said nonchalantly. "Together."

"It's fine," I shrugged. "Not like I have anything better to do."

"What a shock," I heard Gail mutter under her breath. I resisted the urge to rebut her comment. I refused to give into her goading and insults. I was determined to repair this teammate relationship before it went too terribly awry. No matter how much she pushed, I would not push back. She could act like a five-year-old for however long she wanted to. She couldn't hold a grudge forever.

Andy clearly had the same idea on her mind because she also disregarded Gail's comment. "It's okay," she reassured me. "Soccer will keep you busy once the season starts. Especially trying to balance practice with homework. Whew. But I bet you had the same problem before you transferred too."

"Not really," I confessed. "Community college's courseload is almost a joke."

Andy laughed briefly but then the three of us sat in a still silence as she got dressed into her casual clothes. The tension in the air was slightly relieved with her presence, but Gail's iciness seemed to prevail nonetheless.

"You guys good to go?" Andy turned and ran a hand through her wet hair.

"Yeah," I pulled my duffel bag over one shoulder. "Let's go."

The three of us walked through campus with the darkness was starting to settle in around us, with hints of the setting sun behind the clouds. Gail mostly walked behind Andy and me as we talked about school. Clearly I wouldn't be able to get the downlow on Gail while she was lurking behind us, but Andy kept up a friendly conversation the whole way to the Penny.

"We usually like to lurk in the corner," Andy told me as I followed her into the bar. The strong smell of beer hit me in an overwhelming manner along with various food smells. Nachos? It smelled exactly the way you'd expect a college bar to smell like. It wasn't too crowded and I guessed it was because not many people were back on campus yet. Only athletes had to come back earlier in order to start the preseason. Everybody else got to enjoy their summer vacation to its full extent. I didn't resent it though; summer had been long enough for me.

I spotted some of the team members in the corner gathered at a couple tables, exactly as Andy had explained. But sitting amongst them were also a few guys that I didn't recognize. Traci waved us over and gestured to the beers on the table. Conversations were already flowing between the girls as they talked about school and their summers.

"Got you guys started," she winked at the three of us. "I figured any alcohol would do."

"You got that right," I toasted my mug to her before taking a deep drink.

Gail made her way to the other side of the circular wooden table to plant herself next to Traci. She pushed away the beer that Traci offered. "I want hard stuff," she said plainly.

"Gail, it's only the first night of practice," Andy rolled her eyes and sat down next to one of the guys I didn't know. He looked a couple years older than the rest of us, wearing business clothes, as he leaned in to kiss Andy's cheek. Boyfriend. Probably.

"Holly, this is Sam Swarek," Andy wrapped an arm around Sam's neck good-naturedly. "He's a good-for-nothing predator who lurks on soccer players."

Sam let out a short bark of laughter. "Is that all I am to you? A lurker?"

"Well, that and you're my sugar daddy," Andy joked and I couldn't help but feel the easygoing nature of their relationship. "I'm just kidding. Sam graduated a couple years ago and he's working now."

"Thus the sugar daddy status I see," I laughed. "Nice to meet you. What do you do?"

Sam made a face as he pulled at his tie. "Ah, I'm in marketing."

"I'm guessing you're not a big fan of that," I replied, taking another drink from the beer. In the corner of my eye, Gail was still noticeably sullen as she sat there very much undrinking.

"Not at all," Sam scrubbed at his face. "But it pays the bills. For now."

"Adult life?"

"Adult life," Sam nodded.

Andy patted Sam's cheek in jest. "Oh, poor you. Making money. Unlike the rest of us poor students. What's your major, Holly?"

"Biology," I explained. "There's no pre-med program, but I'm trying to get all my prerequisites done in my undergraduate so I can apply to med school right after."

"Wow," Traci chimed in. "You're a go-getter, huh?"

I shrugged. "It's just what I've always been interested in. Never had much aptitude in anything else either."

Several heads bobbed up and down knowingly. Gail still hadn't touched her drink and I almost felt bad for her. I still wanted to try to make things better between us, so I excused myself from the table. I understood why she was upset at me, but there had to be something I could do—her grudge wouldn't do well for the team. And if I had to be the bigger person, then so be it. Going up to the bar, I asked the bartender for a couple shots of vodka. Gathering them carefully in between my fingers, I made my way back to the tables.

"Here," I placed the shots in front of Gail. "How's vodka?"

"Not my favorite," Gail retorted.

Before I could say anything, one of the other guys at the neighboring tables who had heard our exchange reached over and slapped the back of Gail's head. I glanced over at him in surprise while Gail whipped around immediately. If I had thought her glares at me were deathly, her glare at the guy who had committed the offense seemed like it would have killed him three times over. He didn't even seem to be phased though.

"What the hell?" Gail demanded, reaching over to retaliate with a punch to the guy's shoulder. "What was that for?"

"To make you stop acting like a little bitch," the guy made a face and rubbed his shoulder. "Why are you making the new girl buy you drinks?"

"Why not?" Gail muttered.

The guy ignored her and stood up next to me. "I'm Steve," he said, reaching out a hand for me to shake. "I'm Gail's older brother."

That explained why he hadn't been scared off by the death glare. He probably had had years of experience. I wondered briefly what it was like growing up with a miniature version of Gail Peck at his feet. I imagined a tiny blonde girl following him around shooting laser beams out of her eyes every time he picked on her. If he even dared to pick on her at all.

"I'm Holly," I reached out and shook his hand in greeting.

"Nice to meet you," Steve shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. He was wearing casual clothes, which made me wonder if he was working or still a student.

"What do you do?" I asked curiously. "Are you a student too?"

"I'm a cop."

"Whoa. Really?" I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Like a police officer?"

"Unless the word 'cop' suddenly took on a new meaning today, yes. Like a police officer."

"Cool," I nodded. I had respect for cops, despite the shit that they sometimes got for giving tickets. They kept the city safe and they put their lives in danger for the rest of us.

"Yeah, it's alright," Steve shrugged. "Anyway, I apologize for my sister," he reached over and mussed the top of her hair up. Gail reached up in response, swatting his hand away. "She's such a kid sometimes."

"Shut up, Steve," Gail snarled.

"Whatever Gail," Steve rolled his eyes. "The girl bought you drinks. The least you could do is oblige and drink."

"Fine. But only because I wouldn't want it to go to waste."

Steve made me sit down next to Gail, pulling his chair over from the next table to join us. The three of us took our shots in our corner of the table as the rest of the table embarked on their own conversations. Gail didn't even flinch as she poured the shotglass down. Even Steve cringed a tiny bit as he slammed the shotglass back on the table.

"Damn, that's strong."

"That's the only way to go," I responded, placing the shotglass back. The vodka left a bitter taste in the back of my throat and I reached for my beer to wash it down.

I heard a noise that sounded like a breath of laughter from Gail. I turned to her in surprise. It was the first time I had heard her respond in a manner other than negative indifference to me. When she saw me looking at her, she immediately changed her expression back to a solemn one. Her smile had been brief, but it had been there. She was a tough nut to crack, but that tiny laugh told me that her armor wasn't totally impenetrable.

Steve was easy to talk to and we got a conversation rolling easily; I asked him why he had gone into law enforcement—he told me that the Peck family was the police family in the city. To that extent, I was curious as to Gail's major. I assumed that she had followed in her family's footsteps and was studying criminal justice or something along those lines.

"So do you want to be a cop too?" I directed my question towards Gail, forcing her to look directly at me.

"Eh," she shrugged. She didn't offer anymore information and I felt Steve reaching over to slap her in the back of the head again.

"Wait," I held his arm back. "Hold on before you do that again." The Peck siblings both raised their eyebrows in unison. They hadn't looked very alike previously but as they made the same expression, it was clear that they were family. I left the table with no explanation to them, returning to the bartender.

"Here we go," I said triumphantly, placing more shots of vodka in front of the Pecks.

"Whoa," Steve breathed.

"Whoa," Gail echoed.

"You don't kid around when you drink, huh?" Steve joked as I sat back down.

"Alcohol is very serious business," I winked. And again, to my complete surprise, Gail smiled a tiny smile. She even nodded this time. I wasn't as big a fan of alcohol as I was portraying, but it was obvious that Gail was a fan. And if this was the way to crack her shell, then you bet that I was going to find a way in through that route.

"I'm never one to turn down free alcohol," Steve announced. "Cheers to you, Holly."

"Are you trying to buy me with free alcohol?" It was Gail's first complete unmenacing sentence to me. She stared me down with those icy blue eyes of hers and I got chills all over again.

Crap. She was calling me out. "Maybe?" I offered hesitantly, with a tiny smile; I hoped I hadn't made the situation worse than it already was.

She looked at me unblinking for another second more. "Well. It might be working," she said and took the shot without another word. Steve looked sideways at her in surprise and the two of us exchanged glances before shrugging and taking our own shots. With that sentence, I knew that I had picked the right path.

Over the next hour, Gail's walls lowered slightly, especially as she got more alcohol in her. She became more willing to talk to me and she finally answered my question about if she wanted to be a cop like Steve. Not at the moment, she told me. When she told me her major, I was shocked.

"You're a sociology major?"

"You don't have to act so shocked," Gail replied haughtily.

"I just...didn't see you as the type."

"I know what you mean," Steve offered. "If being a bitch were a major, then she'd be perfect at it."

"Fuck you, Steve. I want to go into social work. Or law. I haven't decided yet. But not law enforcement," Gail clarified. "I'm volunteering at a courthouse right now, and it's awesome. Way more awesome than being a cop on the streets."

"We get to carry guns," Steve reminded her.

"We get to boss you guys around for court," she retorted.

I nodded; she had a good point. Steve shrugged uselessly.

"Why not just major in social work?" I asked.

"Because I haven't decided yet," she said as way of explanation. "We'll see. I have been taking some classes though."

I wondered how she had the time to study, be on a soccer team, and volunteer at a courthouse though. My academic schedule was packed full and I hardly could imagine how I was going to balance soccer and school, let alone another activity. Super Peck. She probably never slept.

We became increasingly silly as the alcohol continued to come, courtesy of Steve next. Even Gail let out a couple more laughs. I liked the way she laughed; her smile (when it did show) was infectious and I had to remind my very buzzed self not to stare at her lips. The image of icy Peck had been replaced. Clearly, alcohol, not hot water, melted the ice.

The rest of the team slowly made their way out of the bar one by one, or two by two for the couples. I recalled briefly, another one of the girls on the team, Chloe Price, introducing her boyfriend Dov to me. But with the shots of vodka running fully through my system, I could hardly remember what he had looked like. I just remembered a skinny white boy waving awkwardly at me. I remembered Traci leaving mentioning something about needing to run errands. People left until it was just the Pecks and me. Me because I would've had nothing interesting waiting for me at my apartment anyway. The Pecks probably for the alcohol.

Steve shook his head after the fifth round of shots. "No more," he waved his hands, reaching blindly for his glass of water. "No more," he hiccuped.

Gail snorted. She looked exactly the same as she had when we started drinking, unlike Steve, who had stripped himself of his jacket and tugged his hair into a complete crow's nest. I wondered what I looked like myself, but it couldn't have been as bad as Steve. "Weak," she shook her head.

"You don't have to work tomorrow morning," Steve hiccuped again. He stood up slowly, holding onto his chair for support. "I need to get some coffee and sleep. Are you guys gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded. I was tipsy, but I wasn't completely drunk off my ass. Gail seemed fine too, as she nodded at Steve.

"Okay. Gail, text me when you get home."

Gail rolled her eyes. "Okay, mom."

"Don't even start with me. Mom would kill me if anything happened to you."

"Well, too bad nothing's going to happen to me then," Gail replied sarcastically.

"How much longer you guys gonna stay?" Steve asked, pulling on his jacket with some effort.

"As long as alcohol keeps coming," Gail said promptly, glancing at me expectantly. It was probably the tenth time she looked at me without a threatening look in her eyes and I had to admit that I much preferred this Gail over the one from earlier in the day. I gave thanks to the alcohol.

I laughed. Gail reminded me of a little girl who would hold a grudge against her parents but as soon as her parents bribed her with a cookie, she'd forgive them right away. Humoring her, I gave her a thumb's up. "You got it. As long as Steve doesn't kill me for getting you drunk."

"Are you kidding me? I've never been able to get her drunk. She always outdrinks me. Feel free to take her on if you feel like having a killer hangover tomorrow," Steve shook his head and pulled at his hair again. "I gotta go. I really gotta go."

"Chicken," Gail yelled as Steve's back as he turned to the door. He flipped her off over his shoulder before turning the collar on his jacket upward to block the cold that was undoubtedly waiting for him outside.

"He's such a dick," Gail muttered under her breath. She shook her head and her ponytail swung behind her and I watched it swing back and forth for a second, distracted by its hypnotizing motion. It was so blonde, so pale. I wondered if it was natural. I decided it didn't matter because it looked fucking good on her anyway.

Shaking my head to clear the distraction, I turned my attention back to Gail. "Seems nice enough," I replied. "But why does he hang out at a college bar?"

Gail chuckled. "Because he's a creeper."

"Huh?" I asked confused. "What do you mean?"

"He's got a thing for Traci. Always has. He keeps hanging around the team to try to make a move. Hasn't gotten up the courage to do anything about it though," Gail snorted. "The big bad police officer turns into a big bad chicken when it comes to alcohol and girls."

"Does she know?"

"Nah. Steve always stays at least three feet away from her, so there's no way she'd ever know."

"That's too bad," I remarked. "They'd make a cute couple."

Gail glanced at me in surprise. "Are you telling me you think my brother's cute?"

I choked on my beer mid-swallow. "No. No," I emphasized. "No. I just mean I think it's nice when people get together."

"I guess," Gail shrugged. "So where's the alcohol, Stewart? You promised me more."

"On one condition," I held up a finger. "You have to give me a chance on the field. I think I'm a pretty damn good player and we could make a really great pair if you gave me the chance."

"You drive a hard bargain," Gail crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, tilting it back on two legs. "You still took Traci's spot, you know."

"I know," I acknowledged. "But it's not like she's off the team! And she's totally okay with it, so...you know, you should be too."

"You telling me what I should or shouldn't be?" Gail slammed the chair back down on four legs, her voice slightly raised in a menacing manner. Her eyes narrowed and she stared me down again.

I swallowed, relying on the alcohol for courage. "Yes. You should be okay with it. There is absolutely no harm in giving me a change on the field. Nobody is being hurt. In fact, your way of doing things would just hurt the team." I met her eyes solidly, trying to read her unreadable expression. Her cold exterior had returned, but I found myself not as scared as before. Now that I had had a glimpse of the Gail that could be, I realized that the bitchiness wasn't 100% of who she was.

We continued in our staredown for another ten seconds before Gail's mouth finally tilted up on one side. I blinked, thrown off by the smile that was slowly forming.

"You don't bullshit, do you? And you do the alcohol the way I like."

Well, that had been a complete turnaround from how the day had started.

"So, we're cool?" I asked in disbelief, needing more clarification.

"As long as there are more shots waiting," Gail nodded.

"Definitely," I laughed, satisfied enough with the answer. I got up to retrieve more shots. The walk to the bar was admittedly slightly harder than previous times, but I was determined not to lose to Gail in drinking, no matter what Steve said. We didn't have classes tomorrow so we could get as drunk as we liked.

We took several more shots in quick succession. I refused to be drunk under the table by Gail, washing each shot down with soda or beer. We talked, and we talked a lot.

Gail talked about working at the courthouse; she worked in the foster care system, helping to set up children with new foster families. She wanted to be an advocate for children, which was surprising to me. She told me that she either wanted to become a lawyer to work in that field or she wanted to go on after getting her undergraduate degree to get a master degree in social work. She would decide later. But either way, it became clear that she was passionate about working with kids. Gail could really talk once she got going. I could see now that the passion she put into the game and into hating somebody was the same passion she had for kids. Strangely enough, it was that same fire that had repulsed me at first that I now found intriguing. Sometimes I had to remind myself to pay attention to her words. The more alcohol I got inside my system, the even more I got distracted by her lips as they moved. Her seemingly flawless skin. Each time I had a similar thought, I tried to distract myself from the distractions by drinking more beer. But instead of helping, it just enhanced my original distraction.

She told me about her family, her mother who had pressured her into being a criminal justice major. But having taken a sociology class during her first year, she changed her major accordingly the second year. Her mother hadn't been altogether happy about that, Gail noted with a wry grin.

"Parents," she shrugged.

"Yeah," I said unconvincingly. I had had a totally different relationship with my mom when she had been alive so I couldn't understand, but it wasn't my place to disagree with Gail or the time to bring up such a depressing topic.

We drank until the bartender announced last call. By that time, I was good and drunk, and somehow we had ended up taking turns sharing cheesy jokes. I couldn't remember how it had started—maybe because Gail had mentioned something about nachos. I told Gail the cheesiest puns and jokes I could think of and she seemed conflicted between wanting to roll her eyes and laughing. At any rate, by the time last call rolled around, we were giggling like hyenas and our feud on the field seemed like years ago.

"One more?" Gail quirked an eyebrow at me and wagged it mischievously, before breaking out into a tiny giggle. My image of a bitchy Peck had all but completely shattered. Alcohol was indeed a wondrous invention.

"Did you just giggle?" I asked in disbelief.

"Shut up, Stewart."

"One more it is. Only if you giggle again."

The bartender gave us two more shots and I blew out a very alcohol-laced breath. "Cheers," I said, raising the shot to Gail. We almost missed our shotglasses clinking together, our sense of aim having gone extremely downward. I giggled and made the mistake of taking the shot in the same action.

It was definitely a mistake; I ended up not being ready to down the shot correctly and spat the vodka all over the table. I stared at the spilt alcohol, not knowing if I was more worried about the wasted alcohol or the embarrassment that it had just caused me.

Gail started to laugh first, loudly. So loudly that she turned heads at the bar. I blushed red from the embarrassment and from the curious eyes. Shushing her, I found a crumpled napkin and tried to mop up the sorry mess.

"Sorry," Gail snickered, covering her mouth to muffle the laughter.

"No you're not," I sighed. I blinked hard to make sure I had gotten most of the alcohol. I hadn't. The shot had held a surprisingly amount of alcohol. "What a waste."

"I think that's a sign that we are more than done," Gail announced, finally getting her laughter under control.

"Agreed," I nodded. We stood up together and my feet felt unstable beneath me. The room spun slightly, and I found myself placing a hand on Gail's shoulder for stability.

"You okay?" Gail turned her head to look at me. She seemed pretty steady compared to me. Steve had been right. It was a damn good thing school hadn't started and pre-season practices weren't everyday. We didn't have practice tomorrow; Coach wanted us to take it easy for now with practices only four or five days a week.

"Yeah," I tried to shake it off. The warmth from the bar and the alcohol in me had spread and I felt like I was on fire from the inside out. "I'm fine. Let's go."

We grabbed our bags, and my bag seemed ten times heavier than it had been than when I first walked in the bar. Gail pushed the door and led us into the dark night. Even though it was late, there were still a few people walking around on the streets and a few food places still open for business. Life on a college campus was great, I realized.

"How're you gonna get home?" I asked Gail. I wondered if she lived nearby on campus or if she had opted for an off campus apartment instead.

"Walk," she said matter-of-factly.

"Oh. Okay," I nodded. "Cool."

"So cool," she said sarcastically.

I leaned against the wall by the Penny, dropping my bag on the ground. "I think I'm just gonna stay here for a bit."

"You're...just going to stand there?" Gail slung her backpack over her shoulder with a heave.

"Just for a bit," I breathed. The night air felt cool against my hot skin and I leaned my head backwards until it hit the wall and closed my eyes. The air was fresh and a big relief from the bar's stale air. I felt a tiny bit better already.

"Okay," I heard a thump and cracked open an eye to find Gail had copied me, leaning against the wall with me.

"You too, huh?" I joked, closing my eyes again to the darkness.

"Yeah, I love leaning against walls. I lean."

The two of us remained in silence for a few minutes more, with shouts of other drunken idiots ringing through the air intermittently. The air wasn't tension-ridden like the air that had existed in the locker room. Or maybe we were just too drunk to notice it. I could hear Gail's light, steady breathing and I liked it for its steadfastness.

I turned sideways to her; she looked amazingly cool leaning against the wall, with one foot propped naturally against it. She _should_ like leaning against walls. She looked like a freaking badass, especially with her black leather jacket. She almost blended into the night. "So. Are you and me good?"

"Well, I'm amazing. I don't know about you though."

I laughed out loud. Gail was definitely a kid living in a college student's body. "No, seriously," I insisted. "We're good?"

"Yeah," Gail said, turning her head towards me. "I guess so. Traci is cool with it. And I'll admit that you're good. Good enough, anyway. Plus the alcohol helped your case."

"Thank you, counselor."

"Don't mock me," Gail huffed.

"Okay, your honor."

"I'd slap you, but I think that'd be taking advantage of an inebriated person. So I won't do it."

"Thanks," I bit my lip then because Gail had turned her body to me in response well, with one shoulder still on the wall. And her slightly drunken smirk was so enticing. It was too enticing. The distraction that had started as a tiny pebble suddenly flared into the only thing in my mind.

My body scooted closer to her on its own and I noticed that she didn't back away. Or maybe she just hadn't noticed I had closed the distance. Something between us changed; our dynamic has already been explored on all kinds of contours throughout the day. But right in this moment was a dimension that hadn't existed between us yet. Gail became much more human suddenly. The fortress that she had built around herself seemed to have melted away and I wanted to be even closer to her. Something about her drew me closer, and I couldn't explain the pull she suddenly had over me. The street had become strangely silent for a still minute. Or perhaps it was I had become lost in the moment, oblivious to the outside noises.

I looked deeper into her eyes and there was something else there that I hadn't noticed before. It was a layer that I hadn't noticed before, because she has pushed me with such effort I hadn't gotten close enough. There was that layer beneath the iciness that she had offered me at our first meeting. I couldn't tell if I was just seeing her through drunken goggles or if she had just lowered her inhibitions. Regardless, the drunken haze had fully taken over me now, both in mind and in sight. I gave into that tempting voice that had been repeating in my head, and leaned closer to Gail, keeping my eyes locked on hers and saw nothing that suggested I stop. In fact, it rather felt like she had known it was coming; I saw her bite her bottom lip subtly in anticipation. The action only cemented my resolve, so I continued until my lips met hers. It took an eternity in the haze, and her eyes fluttered tightly shut a split second before my own did. And when we met, I tasted the vodka on her lips and it tasted differently on hers than it did on mine. I liked the different flavor on hers; it was a strange combination of cold and hot, mixed in with our hot breaths and the cool air. A different kind of heat spread throughout my body. The fire that had been steadily burning was set anew, blazing with new sparks.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I expected Gail to break away from me. So I pushed harder to take more from the moment while I was allowed, scared that she would take it away from me any second. It never occurred to me to stop it myself.

But she didn't stop it.

Until she did.

She broke away abruptly, even reaching out with one hand on my shoulder to push herself away from me. However drunk I was, I noticed that she hadn't pushed me away. It was a very distinct motion, her step away instead. She then reached down for her backpack immediately right after.

Her eyes avoided mine, looking down at the street instead. "G'night," she said hastily to my feet. "See you at next practice."

She walked quickly away from me down the street without waiting for me. She walked rather quickly, almost in a half-running motion. I stared after her, bringing my hand up to my mouth. The vodka tasted differently now, intermingled with her taste. There was something addicting about her taste, not unlike the taste of alcohol.

This was still definitely not turning out to be the year I had been expecting.

* * *

A/N: Well, that took about a million years. Slowly but steadily, we'll make it through. Besides, we've got another year to go on hiatus. I can't believe I even made it through the first one, honestly.

Comments and thoughts are always very much appreciated :)


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